Sarah leaned against the desk, arms folded, watching Liam skim through his tablet.
"Hey there, Liam," she said lightly. "It's D-Day, isn't it?"
Liam exhaled. "Oh yeah. Another long day."
At thirty, Liam was Echelon Dynamics' HR lead—sharp, efficient, and usually unshaken.
"So," Sarah asked, "how many applied for the internship?"
"A lot," he replied without looking up.
"Can't say I'm surprised."
"You used my Gmail as the recipient," Liam muttered. "And only a few made it through screening. Today's just interviews."
"Oh well."
"You just had to make things worse."
Sarah smirked. "Not my fault. Boss's orders."
Her phone vibrated. She picked it up, glanced at the screen—and nearly dropped it.
"They're here," she said. "Applicants just arrived."
Liam straightened. "Is Ms. Cross around?"
"Nope."
"She trusts us with this," he said quietly.
"Then we better not let her down."
The applicants filtered in, one after another. Nervous faces. Stiff postures. Overrehearsed confidence.
And then—him.
He stood out without trying.
Tall—about six-one—broad-shouldered, built like someone who trained not for aesthetics but efficiency. Muscular without excess. Controlled. His movements were precise, disciplined. Lethal, if one knew how to read bodies.
Dark hair, sleek and intentional. Ice-blue eyes that didn't wander. A sharp jawline that made him look colder than his age.
Sarah noticed immediately.
"All of you, have your seats," she instructed. "You'll be called in one by one."
Minutes later, Liam leaned back in his chair, frustrated.
"Oh Jesus," he muttered. "These guys ain't shit. They can't answer a simple Java question."
He rubbed his temple. "Goddamn it… next."
A woman entered. Blonde. Grey eyes. Lethal face card.
"Introduce yourself," Liam said.
"Thank you for the opportunity," she began smoothly. "I'm Nadia."
She answered everything—clean, precise, confident.
Liam nodded. "You may leave. We'll contact you if you're shortlisted."
More applicants followed. Some decent. Some forgettable.
Liam's interest sharpened.
"Finally," he said. "One more. Come in."
The door opened.
The man stepped in quietly, closed it behind him, and approached the chair—but remained standing.
Liam looked up, mildly skeptical. "You can have a seat."
"Thank you, sir."
He sat.
"Introduce yourself."
"It's a privilege to be called upon," he said calmly. "I'm Jordan. Jordan Blackwood."
Liam glanced at the CV.
And froze.
Proficiency in advanced hacking. Cybersecurity awareness. Java.
Degree in Software Engineering.
Three cybersecurity certifications.
His eyes widened slightly.
"Mr. Blackwood."
"Yes, sir?"
"I must say," Liam began carefully, "your CV is… outstanding. But I don't believe in papers. I believe in proof."
Jordan nodded once.
"How would you secure an enterprise application against both internal and external threats without affecting performance?"
Jordan went silent.
For a few seconds.
Liam smirked inwardly. So it was all talk.
Then Jordan spoke.
"Security requires a defense-in-depth approach. Externally—WAFs, rate limiting, TLS encryption, strong authentication using OAuth2 or JWT. Internally—least-privilege access, role-based control, continuous monitoring with SIEM tools."
His voice was calm. Measured.
"To avoid performance issues, security checks should be asynchronous where possible. Use efficient modern encryption algorithms. Optimize logs—don't overload them. Most importantly, security must be built into the SDLC, not added after deployment."
Liam's smirk vanished.
"Hmph," he muttered. "Fair."
"Next question. Explain how Java handles memory management—and how memory leaks can still occur."
"Java uses automatic garbage collection," Jordan replied effortlessly. "Objects are allocated on the heap and reclaimed when no longer referenced. However, leaks occur when objects are unintentionally retained—static references, unclosed resources, listeners, or poorly managed collections."
He paused briefly.
"The GC can't clean what's still referenced. Developers must manage object lifecycles properly, especially in long-running systems."
Liam stared.
"Oh damn…"
"One more," Liam said. "An application uses HTTPS, firewalls, and strong authentication—yet data is leaking. How?"
Jordan met his gaze.
"Those protect the perimeter," he said quietly. "Not the application itself. Leakage can occur through SQL injection, insecure APIs, broken access control, misconfigured cloud storage, insider threats, logic flaws, or excessive data exposure."
He leaned back slightly.
"Security must exist at the network, application, and data layers."
Liam exhaled.
What the hell…
"I'm impressed," he admitted.
"But why should we hire you?"
Jordan closed his eyes briefly.
Then opened them.
"You already answered that," he said.
"What?"
"You said you were impressed."
Liam scoffed. "That's cocky."
"I don't believe so."
"This proud motherf—" Liam stopped himself.
"I meet your requirements," Jordan continued. "I passed your tests. That's a win."
"You think our staff aren't more qualified?"
"I applied as a graduate trainee," Jordan said evenly. "If I get to work with them, that's an advantage for me—and growth."
Liam studied him.
"You can leave."
Jordan stood. "I do have a question."
"Oh?"
"Does this internship guarantee full-time employment, or are there conditions?"
Liam smiled faintly. "Worry about getting the internship first."
"Thank you for your time."
Outside, Sarah waited.
"So?" she asked.
"Five did well," Liam said slowly. "But the last guy… he's different."
"Different how?"
"He made me nervous," Liam admitted. "Didn't feel like a fresh graduate."
Sarah frowned. "Like who?"
Liam hesitated. "Richard."
Vivienne Cross's ex.
"Yeah," Sarah said quietly. "You should contact them soon. The next few weeks will be busy."
"Oh, I will."
A few days later—
Jordan worked out in silence. Sweat ran down his back as he reached for his water bottle.
His phone vibrated.
He checked the screen.
Congratulations, Jordan Blackwood.
You have been granted a graduate internship at Echelon Dynamics.
Resume next week.
Jordan smirked faintly.
"As expected."